It's on: Gonzaga vs. Baylor for the national championship

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Overtime buzzer-beater ends Bruins impressive tourney run

When she plays the organ for Sunday Mass, church organist Pat Martin can&rsquo;t help but notice the benches that are roped off, because of COVID regulations.
				&ldquo;I look down and see all the empty pews and it&rsquo;s so sad,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I just want to open the doors.&rdquo;
				Because the coronavirus is still with us, many church leaders know they can&rsquo;t fling the doors open as wide as they might want to on Easter, the holy day when Christians celebrate Jesus&rsquo; resurrection from the dead.
				But at least those doors are open a crack &mdash; especially when you compare this year&rsquo;s Easter celebrations to last year, when the best most worshippers could hope for was a chance to pray along as they watched a live-streamed or televised service.
				&ldquo;We were devastated, of course,&rdquo; church volunteer Richard Laury said, remembering how many people wanted to attend Easter Mass at St. Faustina Church in Nanticoke in 2020, but couldn&rsquo;t.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re so glad for what we have this year,&rdquo; said Len Golobek, who was helping Laury decorate the church&rsquo;s sanctuary for Easter on Wednesday evening, while Martin, the organist, and Maria Lukashewski, the cantor, practiced their music.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to have two trumpets, and two violinists, and seven choir members, all standing far apart,&rdquo; Martin said.
				&ldquo;And we&rsquo;ll have the (outdoor) blessing of baskets on Saturday,&rdquo; Golobek said.
				A limited number of worshippers &mdash; chosen beforehand by raffle &mdash; will be allowed inside the church for Easter Sunday Mass at St. Faustina&rsquo;s, the volunteers said.
				At some other churches with large congregations, including St. Mary&rsquo;s of the Immaculate Conception and St. Nicholas in Wilkes-Barre, advance reservations were required if you wanted to attend Easter Mass in person.
				Other churches have still other ways of coping with the need for social distancing.
				At St. Paul&rsquo;s Lutheran Church in Mountain Top, the Rev. Michele D. Kaufman will celebrate Easter services partly outdoors. Worshippers will be able to see her from the parking lot because, earlier in the pandemic, church members thoughtfully built her a 4 x 8-foot Plexiglass shelter.
				&ldquo;We have not missed a Sunday the entire year,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;In the summer, we moved to the garden and this summer we&rsquo;ll be in the garden again. For now, they&rsquo;ll physically be able to see me in the shelter.&rdquo;
				Kaufman pastors several other local churches, including St. John&rsquo;s Lutheran in Nanticoke, where a small congregation gathered earlier this week for Maundy Thursday services.
				Those services typically include a foot-washing ceremony that involves 12 people, in memory of the way Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper.
				This year at St. John&rsquo;s, because of the coronavirus, the foot washing was limited to Mark Bella, president of the Church Council, washing the feet of his two young sons, Jayden and Landen.
				&ldquo;Being together as part of the Christian community, that&rsquo;s important,&rdquo; said assisting minster Dale Zmijewski, who was grateful a small congregation was able to attend the symbolic service.
				Around the area, other church leaders and volunteers also are grateful for the chance to worship together in person.
				Easter will be especially meaningful at Restored Church on South Meade Street in Wilkes-Barre, because the day marks a reopening after a collapsed ceiling was repaired.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been meeting in 30 smaller locations, like homes and parks,&rdquo; said Pastor Tim Walker. &ldquo;This kind of feels like a homecoming or family reunion.&rdquo;
				&ldquo;We have a pretty large building, and we&rsquo;ll have 50-percent seating capacity in the auditorium,&rdquo; he said, feeling confident the two Sunday services would accommodate the expected attendees. If they don&rsquo;t, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll have some overflow space.&rdquo;
				At Good Shepherd Polish National Catholic Church in Plymouth, Barbara Swartz said not being physically present in her church last year &ldquo;just didn&rsquo;t feel like Easter.&rdquo; She&rsquo;s been forward to attending Mass today and listening to a traditional Polish hymn. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t understand the words, but it takes you back to when you were a kid. Just the tune and melody; it&rsquo;s so beautiful.&rdquo;
				And, at St. Mary&rsquo;s Antiochian Orthodox Church in Wilkes-Barre, church volunteer Joanne Tenneriello is eagerly awaiting Orthodox Easter, which is still four weeks away, on May 2 according to the Julian calendar.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s one of the most special, spiritual and religious days of the year,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the start of Christianity. Jesus sacrificed his life for us, and I&rsquo;m really looking forward to being there in person.&rdquo;

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‘I just want to open the doors’